Hold onto your hats for NorCal playoffs

Updated 6:31 am, Tuesday, March 11, 2014

-- The El Cerrito boys would have preferred to stay in Division III to win a first state title. Instead the Gauchos (28-4) are in the Open Division and face third seed Mitty (26-4) Friday.

-- As strong as Mitty is with vastly improved 6-foot-8 sophomore Ben Kone, the Monarchs haven't seen a team like El Cerrito, which plays at a breakneck pace. The Gauchos were the better team for a half Saturday against Open top seed Bishop O'Dowd-Oakland.

After Kone had 26 points and 16 rebounds in Mitty's 68-60 Central Coast Section Open title win over Serra on Friday, Padres coach Chuck Rappsaid: "He looks a lot like (Aaron) Gordon as a sophomore."

-- If the backcourt of Joey Frenchwood and Michael Pickneyplays as it did in a 74-70 win over a terrific Concord team Saturday, Newark Memorial is the Open Division sleeper. It has won 21 straight.

-- The decision by the Monte Vista-Danville boys (28-1) to not opt up was a good one, but D1 will be no cakewalk. Jesuit-Carmichael (28-3), Freedom-Oakley (24-6) and San Ramon Valley-Danville (23-5) could easily pull upsets.

-- The girls Open field is truly wide open, but if St. Mary's-Berkeley, with two McDonald's All-Americans in Gabby Greenand Mikayla Cowling, plays its best, the Panthers are rightly the top seed and the team to beat.

More by Mitch Stephens

-- After watching Miramonte-Orinda and Carondelet-Concord combine for 194 points in separate title wins Saturday, we're intrigued by the possibility of the two Contra Costa County schools meeting in the Open semifinals. Miramonte averaged 92 points per game in NCS playoff play, Carondelet 91.

Miramonte senior Breanna Alford, who had 21 in the title game, said she wished five-time defending NCS D3 champion Bishop O'Dowd had not been barred from the tournament (for playing too many games): "I was disappointed because they beat us the last three years and I really think this year we could have got them," she said.

-- For the second straight year, Campolindo-Moraga junior guard and leading scorer Matt O'Reillybroke a bone in his right (shooting) arm heading into NorCals. O'Reilly broke it in a NCS semifinal loss to El Cerrito on a fastbreak. Last year, the Cougars responded with three straight NorCal D3 road wins before losing in the finals to Sacred Heart Cathedral.

Campolindo (22-7) is the second seed and has a bye. "It's really bizarre it's happened for a second straight year," Campolindo coach Matt Watson said. "Same arm. Same game. Same type of play. Our guys are of the mind-set if we did it last year we can respond again." SHC is the top seed again.

-- Despite beating Mitty twice, the St. Ignatius boys (22-6) are curiously seeded eighth in D2. If they defeat visiting Washington-Fremont (16-13) on Wednesday, the Wildcats will face top seed Folsom (29-2). "It was definitely curious to us, but you have to beat them all at some point anyway," St. Ignatius coach Tim Reardon said. "I think Folsom may be more upset about it than us."

-- Watch out for Concord in D2 boys. The Minutemen (22-8) had Newark Memorial on the ropes Saturday after beating top NCS seed Montgomery-Santa Rosa (25-6) on the road Wednesday.

Double kudos: California School for the Deaf-Fremont (25-3) won its first North Coast Section boys basketball title with a 55-47 Division VI finals home win over St. Elizabeth-Oakland on Friday night as Alex Antiserov had 15 points and Jax Pedersenhit key baskets down the stretch.

CSD is a perennial national power among deaf schools, but playing for a section crown brought an enthusiastic, near-capacity crowd to the Eagles' home gym, said NCS commissioner Gil Lemmon.

"The atmosphere near the end of the game was electric," Lemmon said. "It was over-the-top exciting. There was great sportsmanship and camaraderie during and after the game. It's what every NCS championship game and postgame ceremony should be."

The game started 75 minutes late, Lemmon said, because no referees showed up. While at St. Mary's College, Lemmon was alerted to that fact near the 7 p.m. tip-off time and three alternates at McKeon Pavilion - Tom Gilbert, Wayne Davisand Sal Gurle - high-tailed it to Fremont.

Division VI teams, the smallest NCS classification, do not advance to NorCal play.

Top 100 baseball: MaxPreps' national baseball editor came out with his top 100 seniors in the country and among them were Valley Christian-San Jose infielder Bryson Brigman(No. 84) and St. Francis pitcher John Gavin(97) and catcher Tim Susnara(100). Among his Top 100 preseason teams were No. 12 St. Francis, No. 92 De La Salle and No. 99 Valley Christian.

Briefly: There were no Metro area state wrestling champions in Bakersfield on Saturday, but Cardinal Newman-Santa Rosa senior PJ Klee took second at 152 pounds and Mitty senior Chandler Ramirez(195) was third. ... The Half Moon Bay boys (D3) won a CCS soccer title Saturday, as did the girls' teams from Los Gatos (D1) and Mitty (D2). Three title games ended in ties and co-champions were crowned - Bellarmine and Watsonville boys (D1), Serra and Gilroy boys (D2) and Menlo School-Atherton and Sacred Heart Prep-Atherton girls (D3). ... A hockey state title game in Ohio between St. Ignatius-Cleveland and Northview-Sylvania was declared a 1-1 tie after seven overtimes due to "player safety." The decision caused a major stir in the state.

Latest from the SFGATE homepage:

Click below for the top news from around the Bay Area and beyond. Sign up for our newsletters to be the first to learn about breaking news and more. Go to 'Sign In' and 'Manage Profile' at the top of the page.